Slider and manufacturing method thereof, head gimbal assembly, disk drive with same

Abstract

The invention discloses a manufacturing method of slider. The slider comprises an incline portion ( 6 ) connecting a read/write portion ( 24 ) disposed with a convex configuration on an air bearing surface opposite to a recording medium, and a concave portion ( 26 ) adjacent to an end thereof where airflow flows in. The incline portion ( 6 ) includes a first incline portion ( 61 ) with a substantially linear shape connected with a surface of the read/write portion ( 24 ) and a second incline portion ( 62 ) with substantially linear shape connected with the concave portion ( 26 ). A first incline angle θ1 of the concave portion ( 26 ) with respect to the first incline portion ( 61 ) is larger than a second incline angle θ2 of the concave portion ( 26 ) with respect to the second incline portion ( 62 ).

1. A slider comprising: a read/write portion disposed on an air bearing surface of the slider opposite to a recording medium in convex configuration, which comprises at least one of a write element for writing information to the recording medium and a read element for reading information from the recording medium;
 an incline portion to connect the read/write portion with a concave portion of the air bearing surface, where airflow flows in when the recording medium rotates, an angle more than 90 degrees being formed between a line and surface of the read/write portion, said line connecting the read/write portion and the concave portion; wherein: 
 the incline portion includes a first incline portion with substantially linear shape connected with the surface of the read/write portion and a second incline portion with substantially linear shape connected with the concave portion; 
 a first incline angle of the concave portion with respect to the first incline portion is larger than a second incline angle of the concave portion with respect to the second incline portion; 
 at least one middle incline portion is formed between the first incline portion and second incline portion, said each middle incline portion being connected with each other from the first incline portion to second incline portion, each middle incline angle being formed between each middle incline portion and respective concave portion, said each middle incline angle being smaller than the first incline angle and decreased gradually from a middle incline portion connected with the first incline portion to another middle incline portion connected with the second incline portion, while larger than the second incline angle. 
 
   
   
     2. The slider of  claim 1 , wherein the first incline angle ranges from 25-35 degrees, and the second incline angle ranges from 8 -15 degrees. 
   
   
     3. The slider of  claim 2 , wherein a height of the first incline portion is about 1/20 to about ⅛ times as high as a height formed between the read/write portion and the concave portion. 
   
   
     4. The slider of  claim 3 , wherein a length of the incline portion along an airflow-in direction is about 4-6 times as large as a height of the convex configuration. 
   
   
     5. The slider of  claim 1 , wherein the first incline angle ranges from 70-90 degrees, and the second incline angle ranges from 2-5 degrees. 
   
   
     6. The slider of  claim 5 , wherein a height of the first incline portion is about ⅕ to about ¼ times as high as a height formed between the read/write portion and the concave portion. 
   
   
     7. The slider of  claim 6 , wherein a length of the incline portion along an airflow-in direction is about 14 to about 20 times as large as a height of the convex configuration. 
   
   
     8. A head gimbal assembly comprising:
 a slider of  claim 1  configured in relation to a recording medium, and a suspension to resiliently support the slider. 
 
   
   
     9. A hard disk drive comprising:
 a slider of  claim 1 , said slider being disposed in relation to the rotating recording medium; and 
 a positioning device to support the slider and displace the slider on the recording medium. 
 
   
   
     10. A manufacturing method of a slider, the slider comprising a substrate and an incline portion, said incline portion being disposed with a convex configuration on an air bearing surface opposite to a recording medium of the substrate, said incline portion connecting a write element which writes information to said recording medium with a concave portion of the air bearing surface, where airflow flows in when the recording medium rotates, an angle of more than 90 degrees being formed between a line and surface of a read/write portion, the line connecting the read/write portion and the concave portion, the manufacturing method comprising:
 forming a protective layer on the substrate, said substrate having the read/write portion formed thereon; 
 forming a first incline portion by etching the substrate incorporating the protective layer by a reactive ion etching method with a first reactive gas containing CF4 introduced therein, said first incline portion being formed between the substrate and bottom position at one end of the protective layer where airflow comes in, said first incline portion having a substantially linear shape and being connected to the surface of the read/write portion; 
 depositing coatings on the substrate incorporating the first incline portion by a reactive ion etching method with a second reactive gas containing CF4 and C2H2, said coatings being formed on the first incline portion and surface of the substrate, said surface of the substrate being adjacent the first incline portion and extending along a direction away from the protective layer; 
 forming a second incline portion by etching the substrate incorporating the coating by a reactive ion etching method with the second reactive gas introduced therein, the second incline portion having a substantially linear shape and being connected to the concave portion and surface thereof, the second incline portion making an incline angle between itself and the concave portion, the incline angle being smaller than another incline angle formed by the first incline portion and the concave portion, 
 wherein at least one middle incline portion is formed between the first incline portion and second incline portion, said each middle incline portion being connected with each other from the first incline portion to second incline portion, each middle incline angle being formed between each middle incline portion and respective concave portion, said each middle incline angle being smaller than the first incline angle and decreased gradually from a middle incline portion connected with the first incline portion to another middle incline portion connected with the second incline portion, while larger than the second incline angle. 
 
   
   
     11. The slider manufacturing method of  claim 10 , wherein the reactive gas used during the forming of the first incline portion also contains argon. 
   
   
     12. The slider manufacturing method of  claim 10 , wherein the forming of the first incline portion includes changing the reactive gas directly to the second reactive gas after completion of the forming of the protective layer, and then performing an etching process for 10-45 seconds. 
   
   
     13. The slider manufacturing method of  claim 12 , wherein the forming the second incline portion includes a constant etching process for 1-10 minutes after completion of the forming of the first incline portion. 
   
   
     14. The slider manufacturing method of  claim 13 , wherein reactive gas used in the etching process of the forming of the second incline portion is still the second reactive gas. 
   
   
     15. The slider manufacturing method of  claim 10 , further comprising removing the protective layer using an organic solution after completion of the forming of the second incline portion. 
   
   
     16. The slider manufacturing method of  claim 10 , further comprising removing the coatings by oxygen after completing of forming of the second incline portion.